Stop praising Modi, look at Maharashtra: Congress to Opposition

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Last Updated: Thu, Jan 10, 2013 20:15 hrs

Mumbai: With Maharashtra attracting one-third of all FDI in the country since 2000, the Maharashtra Congress Thursday urged Opposition parties to stop praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and "speak of Maharashtra".

In an open letter to all Opposition parties, state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that as per official figures released by the centre recently, in the past 12 years (between 2000-2012), Maharashtra attracted a total of Rs.2,81,565 crore FDI.

This stood at 33 percent Foreign Direct Investment in the country for all the states, with New Delhi at 19 percent, Karnataka at six percent, and Gujarat and Tamil Nadu way behind at just five percent each.

"The state also achieved a growth of 11.8 percent in the past five years, against a target of 10 percent, and more importantly, helped generate 1.80 million new jobs," Sawant pointed out.

However, Sawant lamented that in the wake of "drumbeating" of Gujarat's development by Modi, the opposition seem to have forgotten Maharashtra completely.

"Perhaps, this is the reason why the state's unprecedented achievement has gone unnoticed and there has not been any response from you so far," he said.

"As a responsible Opposition, now you must stand with the government and highlight the state's achievements at the international level to attract even more FDI. This would be in the interest of the state and in tune with public sentiments," Sawant said.

The Congress's open letter has been written to Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray, Bharatiya Janata Party state president Sudhir Mungantiwar, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray and the BJP's leaders of opposition in the state assembly and council, Eknath Khadse and Vinod Tawade, respectively.